


The Badlands

by AllAboutThatReymance



Category: Mass Effect Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Kadara, Kadara Port, Mass Effect Adromeda, Reyes Vidal - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 06:46:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10893927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllAboutThatReymance/pseuds/AllAboutThatReymance
Summary: Kali Ryder discovers Kadara Port and must settle a post for the Andromeda Initiative.  She discover's it's shady politics and seedy underbelly, and has to carve out a place for her own people.  Spaghetti Western and space exploration.





	The Badlands

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter starts out very canon, this is my first written submission to fan fiction.

Kadara Port felt alive and almost electric. Her biotic powers hummed as soon as her feet felt solid ground. Most of the worlds she had visited before had been barely inhabited, and dull. Like a patient on life support, it was Kali’s sheer will and SAM’s AI that brought Eos, Voeld and Havarl back to life. On the surface, Aya looked healthy, beautiful and lush, but instinctively she could feel the world wasn’t quite right. Only after activating Havarl’s third vault could she feel its heartbeat.

But Kadara Port was different. Somewhat familiar even.

And it was where many of the exiles from the Nexus uprising had made their home. She struggled with the abstract feelings tugging at her mind and body. It almost reminded her of Omega, but not quite.

“Baby Omega” she thought to herself, and smiled.

It was a busy port. Humans, men and women, Turian and Angaran, Salarian and Krogan all co existing under a common criminal bond. Prior to landing, Vetra had sent her a helpful email detailing what she should expect, a small history of Kadara including local customs, do’s and dont’s. With what she knew from the Nexus uprising, these were peoples whose hopes and dreams had been crushed under the weight of a nightmare reality. They were refugees in a strange land. It was a lawless place with no critical infrastructure, a city made of spare parts and stolen dreams. And Sloane Kelly was it’s Dr. Frankenstein. Ruling with an authoritarian fist, her only experience of leadership was as head of Nexus Security and an Alliance soldier in her previous life. Though Vetra had warned her, Kali could see for herself that Kadara was run under martial law. The threat of a boot, or the barrel of the gun enforced Sloane’s arbitrary rules.

“Listen , you know what happens if you don’t pay your fees. It’s 500 credits to park your ship, or you can try your luck out in the Badlands” a tall man said to a Salarian trader.

The Salarian’s eyelids blinked, his skin slick with shine. “I told you! I spent everything I had just to get here! My ship is barely holding together thanks to the damned sky pirates and now I have to sell my wares just so I can pay my docking fee! If you let me speak with Sloane then I can make arrangements to pay the fee!” The Salarian huffed indignantly.

“Ha! She’ll talk to you once you’ve proved you're not a freeloading bum. Credits, or get out. I’m sorry. It’s not like I want to kick you out, but that’s how it works here. I’m not putting my ass out on the line for you. Because If I did, I’d see hundreds more like you. Okay?” said the Port Authority.

In the Salarian’s spindly arms, he clutched a pitiful box of broken parts and omni tool’s. His face fell in disappointment, his lower lip jutted out in a pout. “This...this is all I have...and what’s left of my ship. I almost died getting here. I’m all that’s left of my crew.” The Salarian bent forward popping his shoulders down, so that his face stared at his own feet.

“Hey.” Kali interjected. She tapped a few keys in her omni tool. “Let him in”.

The Port authority clicked his tongue, checked his Omni tool and nodded to the Salarian. “Well bud, looks like it's your lucky day.” Tapping a few keys on his own Omni tool, he continued: “Ok, go see Sloane. Be brief but don’t give her the sob story that you just told me. She won’t give a shit. Make money, give her the cut she asks for, no squabbling. Then do what you have to do.” The Port authority said to the Salarian.

Immediately, the Salarian’s confidence was restored and he stood straight and tall. “Thank you!” he said to the man. And turning to Kali, “And thank you! I will pay you back, you’ve saved me! I will never forget it!” And the Salarian smiled at her.

She smiled back. The Salarians never forget anything.

The dock manager turned to Kali. “Nice to see another new human face. Name’s Cole Dalton. You came from the Nexus right? How’s that shit hole doing?” he asked her.

Kali tilted her head. “Kali Ryder, Pathfinder. It’s doing much better than you’ve last seen it, probably. We found the Salarian and Asari arks, but we are still looking for the Turian one. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about it?”

“Wow, where were you guys all this time? Could have used your help a year ago. Sloane will be interested to know what you just told me.” and Cole typed a few keys on his Omni tool. “She will want to see you right away, I’m sure. Sorry, I haven’t heard anything about the Turian ark. But once you’ve paid your docking fee, you're free to ask around.”

“I’ve got some business to take care of first.” Kali deposited her docking fee from her omni tool. “See you around, Cole.” and he nodded back at her.

Cole opened the gates to Kadara Port.

Vetra slid up to Kali’s side as they entered the city. “Kali, while you're busy at Kralla’s Song, Drack and I are going to get uh...supplies.” and Vetra shifted her eyes to Drack. Drack’s massive shoulder armor bounced as he laughed. With a deep drawl, Drack chimed in: “Supplies”. Kali stopped mid stride and pivoted her feet to turn towards them.

“Do I even want to know?” Kali asked hesitantly.

In unison, Vetra and Drack replied: “Nope”.

Kali’s face looked skeptical, but Vetra patted her hard on the shoulder. “See you soon!” Vetra told her.

 

* * *

  
Kralla’s Song was easy enough to find because it’s name was emblazoned in neon lights in front of the bar. People were already drunk inside yet there was still daylight. She was very surprised to see natural light. Daylight saturated halfway throughout the bar because of the spacious windows that ran alongside two of its walls. The open windows looked out to cloud topped mountains.

Kali approached the bartender, who was nestled into a corner by one of the open windows. She was well stocked, and an array of colored bottles were arranged neatly in rows behind her. Kali was marveled. The bartender was really, really well stocked.

“Hey. Whadya want? And don’t say surprise me. I really hate that.” The bartender was an Asari with smooth blue skin, with skin too smooth to be a matriarch.

“Whiskey, if you got it.” Kali replied and deposited her credits.

“We’ve got it. We’ve got everything but ice. So, don’t ask for it.” replied the Bartender.

Kali sipped her cup, the whiskey was warm and smooth. She was surprised that it wasn’t bitter. “Did this come straight from the barrel?” Kali asked her. The bartender was mopping up a spilled drink with a rag, and she tapped the top of a Krogan’s head who was passed out. The Krogan’s face was firmly planted down into the bar, a pool of drool lay near its mouth.

“Yeah, nice little side effect of being stored for over 600 years huh? I can tell you that I’ve got the best stuff on Kadara, but don’t ask me where I got it because it doesn’t matter, and No, I won’t sell you any to take back to your ship. If you want the good stuff, you drink it here.” and the Bartender poured Kali another drink.

Kali sat on a stool near the window and looked out. The sun was dipping behind behind the mountains, and orange red hues of dusk smothered the sky. Despite the noise of overly loud, slurring banter around her, and along with the pounding bass of dance music, Kali found herself relax. Kadara was beautiful to look at, and she found herself getting lost in its scenery.

“You look like your waiting for someone”, said a voice that startled her out of her daydream.

“I am Shena, but you may call me Reyes. I hate code names” and an olive complexioned man held out his hand in greeting.

Kali was taken aback, but shook his hand. He placed his other hand on top of hers and squeezed her hand warmly. “Pathfinder. Any questions for me?”

Kali noticed his eyes were a deep honey brown.

“I was expecting someone more Angaran.” she responded, which made him laugh. She told him: “Evfra said that you could help me find Vehn Terav. You're a human with the Resistance?”

“Aren’t you? It’s nice to have a lot of friends, isn’t it?” said Reyes with a wink. “Word has spread about what Vehn Terav had done to the Moshae Sjefa, and the people are calling for his execution. Which Sloane will happily oblige.”

“I’m not going to let that happen. I promised them I would get him back alive to answer for what he’s done.” and Kali stood firm and serious, her body tense.

He was tall and lean with dark full hair that cropped into a fade towards the nape of his neck. He crossed his arms and smiled once he noticed she was staring.

“You talk to Sloane, and I will see what I can do.” he said with a smug look on his face.

* * *

 

“Yeah? Whaddya want with him, and don’t lie to me”, Sloane Kelly had said fiercely to Kali, sitting atop her throne. Sloane appeared bored, and uninterested from the moment Kali walked in, and that pissed Kali off. Sloane sat like a king with a wide legged spread, with one of her legs dangled off the armrest. Her Krogran body guards looked eager for a fight.

“None of your business.” Kali responded irritatedly. She didn’t bust her ass all this way just to get bullied by thugs. Her AI, SAM, queued up in their private channel.

“Kali, every person in this room has spiked adrenaline, including you, I highly suggest that...”

Sloane flicked her wrist and pointed her index finger towards Kali’s face. “Wrong fucking answer.” and Sloane snapped her fingers.

One of the Krogran body guards stepped forward and tried to point a gun straight under Kali’s nose, and within a heartbeat Kali grabbed the gun from the Krogan’s hands and pointed it straight back at him. She slowly backed away from Sloane’s throne.

“Get the fuck out.” and Sloane waved her hands away from her body.

* * *

  
Reyes Vidal was highly amused. “Don’t worry. Once you get inside, give him this device. He can cut the bars for himself. Tell him to meet the Resistance contact at the coordinates that I give you.”

Kali Ryder breathed a sigh of relief. Then she quizzically raised her eyebrow. “Wait, how did have this planned so fast?”

Reyes grinned widely. “I am very good at solving problems, that’s why they give me the big credits.”

“Hm. Doesn’t look like it.” and she cupped her chin with her hand thoughtfully.

“I know. I like it that way.” and Reyes looked at her admirably. The drab color of his clothes looked good with his tanned complexion, she noticed. She wondered absently when she would get time to lay out in the sun.

“Hey, looks like you deserve a break. When you get done, why don’t you stop by my office on the top floor of Tartarus? Drinks are on me.”

“Drinks huh?” Kali retorted.

“Don’t look at me that way, Kali. I’m not trying to get you drunk, unless you want too of course. I am a perfect gentleman” and Reyes did a mock little bow and swept his hands forward dramatically.

“Actually, I don’t believe you.” Kali said guardly.

With a small chuckle, Reyes replied: “Because I’m lying”.

* * *

 

With Vehn Terav safely stowed away on the Resistance contact’s shuttle, Kali felt a sense of relief at fulfilling her promise to Evfra and the Moshae. After having witnessed the Kett exaltation, and seeing the deep pain in Jaal’s eyes, Kali wanted to make sure she did whatever she could do to do right by the Angaran’s. The Andromeda Initiative needed all the help it could get, and if she could prove to the Angaran’s that her people were a worthy ally, that they both faced a common enemy in the Kett, then she could convince Evfra that everyone could mutually prosper. Besides, she couldn’t wait to learn more of the history of the Angaran peoples and share the Initiative's knowledge from the Milky Way with them. Back home, Kali loved to search for and study Prothean artifacts. She had met a lot of hustlers in the Milky Way, peddling fake relics, and she found herself in a lot dangerous situations. Her Alliance Peace Corps training had saved her ass countless times, but every disaster had also been a fruitful lesson. It had made her victories all that much sweeter. Even when she had just found fragments of information from the Prothean civilization, it had felt like a calling.

But to be in Andromeda, in the Helius cluster, and to make first contact with the Angarans was like a dream come true. Even if at times it was painful and difficult. This was new, unexplored territory, with First Contact with a previously unknown alien species, new plants and flora to catalog, new rocks and sediment to analyze, new cultures to explore. It was something real, something she could touch, hear with her ears, discover and interpret in real time. When she stopped to think about it, to really take the time to think, all that new information was dizzying. Her father’s physical copies of the Earthen Lewis and Clark expedition, dog eared, and yellow worn with age and heavy use, felt more akin to what her journey had been like. More so than her discovery of Prothean artifacts, which she likened to finding Earthen dinosaur bones. While she could put matter under a microscope to discover its secrets, it was the first hand accounts of history that she loved the best. Bones and rocks could tell a story, but not one as complete as vivid as the journals of explorers into unknown lands.

Kali was excited to finally be in Andromeda, to touch it, feel it, taste it. It felt like the notes to a song, and beat by beat she listened to the rhythm of its life. To be where she was standing right now, she was sure she had been meant to do it. Every bruised bone, and spilt blood had been worth this experience.

For a moment, Kali let her thoughts linger over her father. She wished that he was still with her, to see what she could see, to learn what she learned. She wished her brother was at her side, so that she wouldn’t feel so alone.

Kali had a great crew, and she liked them immensely. But she was still trying to find her own footing. With so much to prove, and carrying so much responsibility as a Pathfinder, it all wore on her even though she didn’t admit it to anyone. Because everyone knew who Alec Ryder was, and how capable he was, only meant that she had very big shoes to fill. So somehow she would have to find a way to endure, make her father proud, and ensure the survival of her people.

Kali did decide she needed a drink, after all.

She took the lift down to the slums beneath Kadara.

* * *

 

“What did you think of the Pathfinder, Sloane?” Kaetus, Sloane’s second in command rubbed her shoulders while they sat in her bed.

“Hm? That thing? I don’t think much of her at all. She thinks she's hot shit, obviously. She’s too green, to eager to play the part of the hero. She’ll do something stupid, Kett probably, and then that will be the end of that. Her father on the other hand...” and Sloane scooted away from Kateus to lie down on her back. She fiddled with a holographic map on her Omni tool.

“You’re probably right. You usually are.” Kaetus’s mandibles clicked as he looked at Sloane’s naked body.

“Usually?” Sloane furrowed her brows at Kaetus, and her jaw clenched. “Who the fuck started all this? Me. Look at what we have Kaetus. I have great instincts. Just look what we built, look at what we could accomplish in a year. This is nothing. Careful, or I’ll start to question your loyalty.”

“Hmph. And you call ME the grump. Sloane, you're the most amazing human I’ve ever met. I would follow you to the grave.” and Kaetus nuzzled his face on Sloane’s cheek.

“You better. Or I’ll fucking haunt your ass, you big bird.” said Sloane, and in a rare moment of tenderness, ran her fingers across his plates and kissed Kaetus passionately.

* * *

 

“Kali, there you are. I was just thinking about you”, Reyes said to her, as he poured her a glass.

“Oh?” Kali paused before she returned his toast.

“Yes, in fact, I am impressed how much quieter Kadara has been since you have found us. You wouldn’t believe how much easier my job has been since Sheriff Kali has rolled into town.” Reyes clicked his tongue. “And such a pretty face, I am sure they didn’t see it coming. But it’s the stupid ones that die first, yes?” and he laughed.

“Uhm, I guess I have been shot at a lot less, now that you mention it.” Kali took a drink. “So, how did you get involved with the Resistance, Reyes?”

A smug half smile crept up the side of his mouth. “Before, I was a pilot. That’s how I found them, but I am sure you understand how that went.”

“I don’t blame them, with what the Kett did to them. Why did they call you Shena?” she asked.

He chuckled and ran a hand across his belly. “It’s Angaran for mouth. I’m good with words, heh.” and he tilted his head to look at her.

Kali finished her glass. “Among other things?”

He poured her another glass. “Never had a complaint, Kali.”


End file.
